


Admit It

by court_of_arcana



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Cardan Greenbriar's Tail, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Original Character(s), Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:33:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29059821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/court_of_arcana/pseuds/court_of_arcana
Summary: Violet (a mortal) attends a party at Locke's estate and while she's asleep Prince Cardan steals her ring.[This is a spicy snippet (that works pretty well as a standalone I think) from a full-fledged fic I'm writing about this OC Violet who moves to Elfhame and has to deal with the bullying gentry, whilst getting swept into the royal political drama beyond her wishes. (In this universe Jude doesn't exist) ]
Relationships: Cardan Greenbriar/Original Character
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	Admit It

I shouldn’t have had the wine. The couple of sips I downed made me giddy and loose. I got lost in the hedge maze and rolled on the grass cackling, looking up at the stars, wondering if they’re all just eyes staring down at me.

I awake from a brief nap on the cool ground. Now that the wine’s effects have finally started to wear off I sit up, taking in my surroundings. There are a few Folk sleeping around me and Nicasia is there, brushing out tangles from her perfect cerulean hair.

“Something wrong?” She asks.

I didn’t think there was, but now suddenly I do. “What?”

She shrugs, “oh, nothing.”

I look down at my person, expecting to find my clothes gone or something else embarrassingly wrong with me. That’s when I see what’s missing. My ring. “Where is it?” I practically growl.

“I don’t know,” she says offhandedly. “Cardan took it and said he was going to hide it somewhere in the house.“

I storm out of the hedge maze furious and immediately sober. I’m going to kill him.

I burst into room after room of Locke’s estate, growing angrier with each one that doesn’t contain the asshole Prince. I make it to the second level and at the end of the hall I finally find him, lounging relaxed upon a bed that doesn’t belong to him. I didn’t expect to find him alone, however. I would have thought he’d be wrapped up with some girl or another.

Cardan’s frilly beige shirt is untucked and something moves beside him—his tail. It sways in an absentminded manner as he reads a small book. He’s yet to acknowledge my presence so I slam the door shut to make him look at me. He finally does, mock innocence on his face.

“Where is it.” I hiss, ready to murder.

“Where’s what?”

“My ring.”

“Oh, that pretty thing with the ruby?” His tail starts to thrash slightly. “I’ve hidden it.”

“Yes, I know that part.” A whole string of nasty words form at my tongue. “Tell me where it is.”

He thinks for a moment, some evil plan playing out in his head. “It’s in this room.”

I’m practically blowing smoke out of my nose as I begin searching the place. I don’t care who's room it is, I overturn the cushions of the chaise, I dig through every single drawer of the desk against the wall. I lift the rug, getting down on my hands and knees to peer under the bed. Cardan holds up his book to act like he’s reading, but I can tell he’s watching me. Relishing in my fruitless search. I hate him. I hate him so much it hurts.

After I dive my hands into each pocket of every jacket in the wardrobe I slam the doors. The only part of the room I haven’t searched yet is Cardan himself. I realize this and look over at him to see the damn ring is resting on his finger.

I’m shaking with rage, positively livid. I just turned the whole room over for nothing. “Give it to me.”

He takes the ring off and holds it between his slender fingers, admiring the gold. I go to lunge for it but he pulls it out of my reach. “Stand at the end of the bed,” he says.

“What are you playing at?” I’m so angry I could cry.

“I’ll give your ring back if you do as I say.”

As if it were that simple. I know it’s not. It never is with him. But that ring is all I have left of my old life. I can’t tell Cardan this, but there isn’t much I wouldn’t do to retrieve it.

So…I go to stand at the end of the bed. I glare at him where he rests comfortably against the headboard, long legs clad in black pants outstretched before him, tail curling into his side.

His eyes look the way they did when he watched me in the hedge maze. When that girl kissed his neck. They practically shine in the dim bedroom light. He holds the ring between his thumb and index finger and says, “crawl to me.”

I blink. This must be a joke. A sick, sick joke.

Only Cardan isn’t laughing. He isn’t even wearing his usual mischievous smirk. He’s absolutely dead serious. Waiting.

Slowly, testing, I place a knee upon the bed, followed by a hand. Then the other knee. I begin to crawl towards him in a feline manner, gauging his reaction. I notice his breathing is shallow and something is raging behind his eyes. Something like disgust mixed with desire.

“Is this what you want?” I ask as I approach him, climbing over his legs until our faces are less than a foot away. I keep my back arched, shoulders rolling as I shift my weight.

Cardan may not be saying anything, but his body is telling a tale. His expression is fighting to stay calm and unaffected by my display. But the Prince’s eyes are so hungry. His tail is waving nervously, brushing against my calf as it does so.

This can’t be real. The Prince wants me. A mortal. The girl he despises and torments constantly. All I had to do was crawl over to him and he’s struggling to remain composed. I actually feel in control for once and the thought is heady.

“Here,” he holds the ring up before me in surrender, trying to pretend his little game is over.

But I’m not done playing. I’ve decided I want to see just how far I can push him.

I lock my eyes on his and never look away, even when I dip my head to take the ring between my teeth. As I do so, my lips linger on his skin. I watch his pretty mouth part before he releases the ring.

The metal is salty on my tongue and I play with it suggestively before slipping it onto my finger. I realize this is why he took the ring in the first place. To lure me to him. He couldn’t bring me here outright. Couldn’t let his friends know he secretly wants the mortal girl. What a stain on his reputation that would be.

“Is there something you want, Cardan?” I ask him, hovering so close I can feel his uneven breath against my chin. Can count each one of his long eyelashes. “Do you want me?”

He looks angry, but not with me. With himself. His hands have balled into fists at his sides.

“Tell me the truth.” I beg, inching closer still. _Not that you have much of a choice._

He doesn’t want to admit it, is biting down on the words. So I try to help him out. I lean in and brush my lips against his. But he doesn’t move. Doesn’t reciprocate. His mouth remains still as a statue—albeit a terribly soft statue.

“No?” I pull back slightly, confused. I suppose it’s possible I misread him…

Cardan makes a frustrated noise before slamming his lips into mine. The dam has broken and the flood is inescapable.

I relish in the slick slide of our mouths together; the heat of his tongue. His hands grasp my sides to pull me down onto him, one holding me close while the other dives into my hair. At the contact, the feel of his body up against mine, I can’t help but let out a betraying sound. And I _do_ feel betrayed. Because for all that I’ve hated the Prince, nothing feels as good as kissing him. As running my hand over his cheek, his neck, his chest.

And judging by the desperate way Cardan grips me, it feels just as good for him too. There’s tremendous satisfaction to be had in that, but it’s not enough. I’m going to make him admit it.

I pull back to see his lips are pink and his cheeks are flushed. He looks like a sensual mess and the sight does things to me that it shouldn’t. He also looks worried that I’ve stopped. Like the world is about to come crashing down on him and I’ll laugh in his face for what we’ve done. I’m tempted.

But instead I bring my lips to his neck. I drag them up the path of soft skin to his pointed ear where I whisper. “Do you want me, Cardan?”

I begin to unbutton the top of his silk blouse. His breath hitches.

“I…” He _still_ doesn’t want to admit it. Even as I bring his earlobe between my teeth and his head falls back.

“Tell me,” I coax. He’s not leaving this room until I hear the words.

“Yes,” Cardan finally admits in a breathy voice. “I want you.”

The satisfaction of it sends a chill down my spine. “Mm,” I speak softly before dragging my tongue along the outer shell of his ear. “Say my name.” _My mortal scum name._

“Violet,” his hands rove across my back, the word coming out of him like a prayer.

“Say ‘I want you, Violet.’” I order, his shirt undone and chest bare. I run my hands over his shoulders and then lower, all the way down his torso. They stop teasingly at the waistband of his pants until he says it. I search his eyes, waiting. There’s still shame there but it’s swallowed up in lust.

“I want you, Violet.” Cardan’s voice is low. “I want you so bad it feels like an illness. I can’t stop wanting you and it terrifies me.”

The truth. Nothing will ever feel as good as hearing him admit it. I could die happy now, knowing that for all his efforts to belittle me, he can’t fight the urge to kiss me. To make me crawl towards him. To lay with me.

“Good,” I pop the button of his pants. I trail kisses down his chest slowly, working my way lower until I can grab the zipper between my teeth and pull it down. He’s been hard since we first kissed and I only have to maneuver his pants slightly to free his length.

In all honesty, I’ve never felt more powerful than with him bare before me. It’s intoxicating. I take him in my hand, pressing soft kisses to the tip. Cardan’s eyes are impossibly dark where they look down at me, like he can’t believe I’m doing it. Like he doesn’t want to move or say anything in case it makes me stop.

I swirl my tongue over him before bringing the full length into my mouth. He tries and fails to hold back a delicious moan. It’s hard not to smile, I’m so utterly pleased with myself. His ringed fingers curl into the bedding as I bob my head, dragging him in and out of my mouth.

Cardan’s tail comes to wrap around my arm as I work him, tongue swiping up and down over him in all the ways I know will drive him to the edge. His breath starts to catch. His muscles tighten. He’s chanting my name over and over, coming undone beneath me. It’s clear that he’s a precious few strokes away.

That’s when I let go of him and crawl off the bed. I straighten my dress and wipe the saliva from the corner of my mouth. Cardan’s eyes are wide, confusion evident as he watches me.

“Where are you going?” He asks desperately, still panting and hard as a rock.

I wiggle my fingers at him, showing off the ruby ring. “I got what I came for.”

And with that, I leave the room.

In the hallway I pass Nicasia, who sneers at me as usual. She points to the door. “Is Cardan in there?”

“Mhm,” I give her a small smile. “He’s probably a little busy at the moment, though.”

As we pass each other her face contorts into a grimace. She can smell him on me.

The thought that Nicasia knows we’d done something is somehow equally as satisfying as knowing I left the wicked Prince there, breaths away from an orgasm.


End file.
